


The Princess of Wolf Trap

by MacandLacy



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Cats, Dogs, Gen, Will Grahams Dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-21 00:29:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2448671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MacandLacy/pseuds/MacandLacy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal is taken in by a stray.  Chaos ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Princess of Wolf Trap

*****

Despite being currenly owned by seven dogs, in truth, Will Graham liked all animals. As a young patrol officer, he had once stopped traffic to let a family of ducks cross a busy road. He worried about Global Warming destroying the habit of polar bears. He got alerts on his phone from a wildlife rescue group when dolphins were stranded on the beach.

And animals liked him. At petting zoos he was immediately zeroed in on as a soft target by gangs of goats. He got Holiday Cards from the local animal shelter, with tiny paw prints of hamsters thanking him for his generous donations during the year. Fish at the lake seemed to know that if Will Graham caught you, you would be released (and openly mocked him for it).

So when he opened the door one morning to see the newest stray on his porch, he wasn’t surprised. He figured that the fact that he had seven dogs was the only reason this hadn’t happened earlier. Of course, it was unsettling that all seven dogs were now cowering in terror behind Will, afraid to step out onto the porch.

“Hey,Girl,” Will said to the small calico cat. “Nice to meet you. I got some tuna in the kitchen. Would you mind letting the dogs get out, though? They really gotta go.”

The cat seemed to ponder the question for a moment, and then retreated from her place in the middle of the stairs to the porch. Seven grateful dogs rushed to the grass.

Will had long ago stopped wondering why every stray animal on the Eastern Seaboard made its way to Wolf Trap and his little house. He just accepted it. Made things so much easier. He fetched the can of tuna, and made a mental note to pick up some cat food at the store on his way back home.

When he left for work, the dogs were safe in the house, and the cat was curled up on a blanket on the porch, enjoying a sunbath.

*****

WEEK ONE

Hannibal stopped and raised an eyebrow at seeing the latest addition to Will’s kennel. He never would have thought that a cat would willing abide with seven dogs, but she seemed to have things well in hand….or paw. Will opened up some fancy cat food and spooned it into a recycled plastic bowl and put it on the counter for her to eat. Hannibal frowned at the sight.

“It eats out of….” He looked at the label of the bowl. “An old container of margarine?” Will flushed.

“Her name is Callie. Haven’t had time to get to a pet store, and I figured she wouldn’t like a dog bowl,” he said. “And you know I usually eat off paper plates.”

Hannibal knew that indeed. It was the reason he had packed china in the picnic basket that he had brought out to Wolf Trap when he agreed to spend a day fishing with Will. He opened up the basket and found a spare saucer and matching plate and proceeded to transfer the cat food to a proper bowl. Will just shrugged and told the cat to be careful not to break them.

Hannibal was usually hyper aware of everything around him, but even he didn’t notice the pair of green eyes watching his every move. Dr. Lecter didn’t know it yet, but he was marked man.

When Will went to Dr. Lecter’s office for his next appointment, Hannibal gave him a set of elaborate cat food bowls to take home.

“It is unhygienic for her to eat off plastic,” he insisted. Will didn’t argue.

*****

WEEK TWO

Hannibal Lecter preferred to shop at fresh organic markets for food he did not ‘hunt’ himself. He also purchased cleaning supplies and toiletries from specialist shops. So to say that he was rarely in a mass supermarket was an understatement. But here he was indeed, following Will, who had needed to stop to grab a few things before Hannibal took him home.

They entered the pet aisle, and Hannibal raised an eyebrow in surprise; Will ate the most atrocious food, but he was fairly certain that Will fed his animals superior quality items. He was frankly relieved when Will passed by the food and instead got a large container of cat litter. The teacher then also tossed in a plastic litter pan.

“One bad thing about cats,” Will muttered. “Just can’t let them outside and pick it up later.” Hannibal hummed in agreement. “The other thing is keeping the dogs out of it. Bella tried to play in the litter the other day.”

Hannibal considered this for a moment. He could imagine that it was not ideal for the cat to have to do her business in an open area with seven dogs. He also was positive that the smell could not be pleasant.

The next day Hannibal brought a large box to Will’s classroom and opened it to reveal a state-of-the-art automatic cleaning litter box with a ‘privacy’ hood. All it was missing was a remote control.

“Uh…” Will said, looking confused.

“It is not suitable for her waste to be in an open box; the dogs might get into it,” Hannibal said.

“True,” Will acknowledged with a sigh.

Hannibal handed Will another box. “And it is preferable to use this quality litter. It is hypoallergenic.”

Will meekly accepted the items, and spent two hours that night reading the 90 page operating manual for the litter box and setting it up.

*****

WEEK THREE

Hannibal frowned as Will carried three big cardboard boxes out of his office and to the parking lot. “Are you moving?” he asked.

Will snorted and shook his head. “I saw this really cool video on YouTube on how to make a cat castle out of cardboard boxes. Going to give it a try this weekend.” He didn’t see the look of pure horror on the doctor’s face.

Saturday morning Hannibal pulled up to Will’s house followed by a delivery truck. Two men got out of the truck and began hauling out several huge boxes.

“What’s this?” Will was glad Hannibal had texted ahead, and he was dressed in something other than his usual weekend attire of shorts and an undershirt.

“Cat Tower 3000,” one of the delivery men said cheerfully. “Best cat tree on the market.”

Will stared at Hannibal.

‘Cardboard is unstable, not to mention dirty. This is far better for her. And she needs height to be free of the dogs.”

“Callie didn’t seem to mind,” Will protested weakly. Indeed, the cat had seemed delighted with the cardboard boxes, but one look at the Cat Tower 3000, and Will knew Callie had set her heart on it.

It took four men two hours to assemble the gigantic cat tree, which reach floor to ceiling and took up an entire corner of the living room. In addition to the towers, there were toys to attach to various parts of the platforms and it came with sleep-o-matic cashmere and sheepskin beds.

As Hannibal left, he gave Will two wrapped gift boxes. Inside one was an elaborate collar with jewels (and Will was pretty sure they were real). The second box held a collection of cat toys from a store in Paris. “Be sure to play with her at least 20 minutes, twice a day,” the doctor lectured.   “Preferably three play sessions a day. She needs mental stimulation.”

*****

WEEK FOUR

Will answered the door, wondering who on Earth had driven out to Wolf Trap to see him. A young man smiled in greeting. “Hi, are you Mr. Graham? I’m Thomas. I have an appointment with Callie.”

“What?”

Thomas handed him a card. _Elite Cat Grooming_ , the card read. _Service in your home for your cat’s comfort_.

“Dr. Lecter booked the appointment,” Thomas explained.

While Will used the garden hose to clean the dogs outside, Callie had a _session_ with Thomas inside, getting a bath, style, massage, and pedicure. There was catnip aromatherapy and healing crystals involved.

After Thomas left, Will looked around his house. Callie ate off fine china, while Will and the dogs squabbled over paper plates and plastic bowls. Her bed cost more than Will’s had. The fanciest thing in the house was her elaborate state of the art robotic litter box. Her toys were made out of real fur and cashmere and imported European catnip while the dogs dug up sticks from the yard. The best piece of jewelry in the house was her collar.

She was far, far too good for them.

He made a call to Hannibal.

*****

WEEK FIVE

Will followed Hannibal into the kitchen. “”I am so very sorry Will, but dinner will be a tad delayed. I hope this is alright,” the doctor said.

“Sure, no problem,” Will answered. It was highly unusual for the doctor to be late with any meal, thought. “Everything okay?”

“Yes of course. It simply took longer than I had anticipated to fix Callie’s dinner. If you would keep her company, it should be out in just a moment.”

Will wandered into the dining room, and found Callie ensconced on a velvet and cashmere bed. She purred happily upon seeing Will, and greeted him with delicate head butts and licks. He was certain the cat smirked at him before going back to washing her paws before dinner.

Hannibal entered the dining room with a silver tray, on which set a crystal plate. Elegantly plated upon it was a serving of a lightly poached tuna fillet, garnished with shrimp, catnip, and parsley. The chef fretted, visibly twisting his hands, until Callie had sniffed it and decided it was worthwhile to eat. Will had never seen Hannibal look so relieved.

While Hannibal returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the human minions, Will gave Callie a pat.

“You did good, girl,” he told her, admiration clear in his voice.

Callie purred, and smirked, very satisfied herself. Things had worked out exactly as she had planned. Her new human servant, Hannibal, did have some bad habits, to be sure. He needed to be more careful when he was hunting, for example. Why, any cat worth their whiskers could tell that Hannibal hunted humans. But his inexperience was compensated by the care he lavished on her, and the fine meals of fresh meat he provided. She would have to just teach him how to properly hunt.

Yes, all in all, she was very, very satisfied.

THE END

 

 


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